Westcut is comprised of guitarist Glenn Shepherd and bassist David Reader. They both sing lead and harmony vocals. The duo was formerly a quartet, including David's elder brothers, Mark and John. The band played semi-professionally for about a year, starting in 1991. However, the band found that they were all heading in different directions and were no longer really progressing as a unit. With Glenn and David now working extensively together as songwriters and developing their own distinct sound together, it was realised that they were both heading in the same direction and this was without Mark and John, thus an amicable agreement was made for Glenn and David to continue with Westcut as a duo. This new arrangement gave Glenn and David much more room to develop their musical relationship even further and to improve the overall Westcut sound. So since autumn 1992 Westcut has comprised of Glenn and David, playing only private functions. Although they are a duo, they make use of computer technology and backing tracks when playing live to fill out their sound. Naturally they would both rather have live musicians but the use of backing tracks at least gives a more rounded out sound. They have constantly been song writing and are now actively seeking a publisher for their songs.

When asked what sort of music they play or who they sound like, neither Glenn nor David can find a satisfactory answer. The only way they can describe their style is an amalgamation of everyone who influences them. Glenn says, "The only way I can describe us is 'middle-of-the-road,' but that doesn't really sufficiently convey our sound. We really don't like to put a label on ourselves. Our emphasis is on writing songs, songs that mean something to us and that other people can relate to. I think our closest comparison can be to the beat groups of the 60's, but with a modern sound. At the end of the day, we sound like us."

David and Glenn live about 1 mile away from each other in Manchester, England, the origin of their musical idols, The Hollies. Although they both have their unique, individual approaches to music and song writing, they find that they are the perfect complement to each other.

Glenn's Musical History

Glenn started playing the guitar mid 1990. He is a trained sound engineer which, of course, comes in handy. He can also play keyboards and usually takes care of the computer programming and production. David refers to Glenn as being a 'technical wizard.' Glenn finds this highly amusing! Although he is the more technically minded of the partnership, he makes no claim to being any sort of genius.

His favourite bands are The Hollies, the Electric Light Orchestra, the Moody Blues, Def Leppard, Journey, Bon Jovi, Crosby Stills & Nash and Hanson. He also likes new country such as Little Texas, Martina McBride and Collin Raye. His favourite guitarists include Steve Vai, Richie Sambora, Tony Hicks and Alan Coates. Glenn also likes classical music, his favourite composers being Richard Wagner and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

David's Musical History

David has been playing the bass guitar since early 1990. David, like Glenn, can also play keyboards and sometimes also plays the guitar. He is the more laid-back member of the partnership, preferring to get lost in his bass playing and leave all the 'embellishment' to Glenn. At school, David had a band called the Helium Scarves and he was the bass player and lead singer for the band. David was a member of the Helium Scarves before and during Westcut's formation. However, the Helium Scarves disbanded and went their separate ways upon their leaving school and David was thus able to make a full, dedicated contribution to Westcut.

David's favourite bands are The Hollies, the Electric Light Orchestra, The Who and Crosby, Stills & Nash. His favourite solo singer is Garth Brooks. His favourite bass players include Ray Stiles, Steve Stroud, Nathan East, John Entwhistle, Leland Sklar, Mike Porcaro and Stu Hamm. One of his all time favourites is one of his dad's friends, Alan Miller, someone who although isn't famous, was instrumental in David's progress as a bass player. Alan was the reason for David wanting to play the bass. David too likes classical music and his favourite composer is Mussorgsky.